


Pho-tog-ra-phy

by wandering_soul_with_a_writing_goal



Series: Ficlets [6]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: And her crush is the perfect muse, El learns photography, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Sibling Bonding, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25618477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wandering_soul_with_a_writing_goal/pseuds/wandering_soul_with_a_writing_goal
Summary: El is mesmerized by Jonathan's photography, so he teaches her how to do it. (Also some elmax :3)
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Jonathan Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper
Series: Ficlets [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1824505
Kudos: 42





	Pho-tog-ra-phy

**Author's Note:**

> Social experiment- if i put the "talk to me on tumblr" i always say, HERE, will people actually talk to me @ strangerthingsiscool ?? we'll see!  
> Requested by Rose Anon: maybe you could write something with jonathan and el having bonding time? maybe he teaches her how to do photography? side elmax, if you don't mind.  
> :))

Ever since El had moved in with the Byers, she’d been mesmerized by something Jonathan did.

The “something” involved using a black box to put real things on paper. She didn’t know how, but it wasn’t magic-- El knew that Magic didn’t exist. Magic was just for games, like the “Dungeons and Dragons” Will would rant on an on about. It was interesting, but El didn’t really understand the point of just pretending to go on adventures. The Party had already experienced enough real adventures that were much cooler, so what was the point of a game?

One day, El was sitting in the living room as Jonathan took pictures of different walls in their new house. Her eyes were glued to the device (a camera?), and she tried to capture the process in her mind. Point the box to the thing, hold it steady, put your face next the box, press a button. And then, just like magic, the paper would slide out.

Jonathan must have noticed El watching, because he turned away from his work and came over to El. “You like my camera?” Camera. She nodded, eyes fixated on it.

“Stay still,” Jonathan said. El stopped moving, and Jonathan put his eye to the camera and clicked a button.  _ Flash _ . A shiny little picture of El slid out of the device.

El grabbed it immediately. It was  _ her _ . Exactly the position she’d been sitting in just a moment ago. It was like she was looking through someone else’s eyes and seeing the exact room she was in right now. It was mesmerizing.

“I want to learn,” El said, sure she’d never been more sure about something in her life.

Jonathan smiled. “Really? Awesome! I always try to teach Will, but he’s never really been interested.”

Right. Will seemed to like the other way of making pictures: drawing.

El and her older brother left to pick some flowers outside. Once El was satisfied with her picks, they came inside and put the flowers in a glass vase. Now it was time for the fun part.

Jonathan handed El the camera and moved her hands so that they were in the right place. Satisfied, Jonathan stepped away and began to explain.

“So, you’re gonna look through that little hole, and when you like the picture you see, press this button on top.”

El nodded. She looked into the hole and saw, surprisingly, the same flowers she picked. She changed her position, trying to get the vase perfectly in the center, and when she was satisfied, pressed the button.  _ Click _ .

The machine seemed to whir in her hands, and El flinched in surprise. Out slid the picture. El grabbed it.

_ Woah _ . It was… pretty. The red, yellow, and white flowers fell perfectly in the light, making them look vibrant and beautiful.

Once she was able to pull her eyes away, El handed it to Jonathan. “Nice job!” Jonathan said, looking at it. El felt proud.  _ I took that picture _ .

They went around the house, taking pictures of any objects that could be interesting. A lamp, a painting on the wall, Joyce’s shoes, a bar of soap that was a pretty shade of pink, and eventually, they were back at the table, looking through all of the photos.

“El, these are really good! You could be a photographer some day,” Jonathan said, looking proudly at the photos.

“Pho-to-gra-pher?”

“Yeah. It’s a person who does photography, which is taking pictures.”

“Pho-tog-ra-phy.” El tried out the word. It had a satisfying sound to it.

“But I’ll have to get you your own camera and film. We burned through mine real fast.” he chuckled.

“Film?”

Jonathan explained the concept of film, which  _ wasn’t _ a movie, but it  _ was _ something you put in cameras to take more pictures.

El felt excited, happy, and eager to learn more. She felt like she’d finally found her  _ thing. _ (Mike’s was writing, Max’s was skateboarding, Will’s was drawing…) and now, El’s was photography.

She couldn’t wait to do it more.

* * *

Christmas, 1985. All of the “kids” were in the Wheeler basement, and El was opening a present.

_ To: El, From: Jonathan _

She ripped off the blue wrapping paper to reveal a shiny, white box, with a picture of a camera on it.

“I figured you’d like one of your own,” Jonathan commented.

A camera! El’s mouth opened in surprise and gratefulness. She smiled, admiring the box.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, feeling shy and thankful and  _ excited _ .

Later, after some help from Jonathan to set it up, El was taking pictures of all of her friends, whether they agreed to it or not.

When she got to Max, the redhead turned away shyly. “You don’t want a picture of me,” she said, covering her chest with her arms.

“Yes, I do.” El was sure of this. She didn’t know why she was so sure, but she wanted to see Max every day, even if it was just on a piece of paper.

Max raised her eyebrows. “Okay, but can we take it, like, later? I look really bad right now.”

Wrong. Max’s face looked beautiful as it always did. Her hair fraimed her face like a golden picture frame, and the sweater she was wearing was perfect. “You look pretty.” So pretty that El may have finally found something she was more obsessed with than photography.

Max smiled. “Really?”

El nodded, smiling back. “Really pretty.”

Max looked at El for a moment. “If you say so.” Then, she looked at the floor. “You are too. Pretty, I mean.”

El blushed. “Oh. I mean… I am?”

Max chuckled, eyes crinkled in a smile. “Of course, silly! Now, let’s get away from these boys. We can take my picture outside.”

Max grabbed El’s hand and dragged her upstairs and to the front yard, both of them giggling. When they found a place, Max posed for a picture, then another, then another. Then, Max insisted that she take a picture of El.

“Okay, you got a picture of me. Now I want a picture of  _ you _ .”

Fair. “I’ll teach you,” El said, putting the camera in Max’s hands and putting her own hands over Max’s. She taught Max how to take a picture, and after some struggling and a lot of laughing, Max got it. And they continued to take pictures of each other and pose until El’s side hurt from laughing.

Photography. El loved it.


End file.
